Sprinkling in Grace (Friday Devotional)

 

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

- Colossians 4:6

I once knew somebody who put Tabasco sauce on everything…and I do mean everything. Eggs in the morning? Sprinkle some Tabasco on top. Fried chicken for lunch? Let’s make it hot chicken with a little Tabasco. Catfish for dinner? Well sure, you need to add a little kick to that; get out the Tabasco.

Rare was the meal where this friend didn’t reach for his trusty bottle of Tabasco the way you might for salt and pepper. I wouldn’t be surprised if he even put it on his ice cream!

Most of us prefer more variety than that in our food, and the same goes for our interactions with people. When we’re among friends, our conversations are warm and gregarious. When talking with strangers, we’re polite, but more distant. And when we’re dealing with difficult people, we may find ourselves straining for courtesy, much less kindness.

But Scripture tells us that, just like my friend with his Tabasco, there’s one ingredient we always need to sprinkle in: grace. Whether we’re dealing with a beloved friend or a bitter enemy, the Lord calls us to be witnesses to his mercy and truth, to be living illustrations of the power of the cross. Any interaction where we fail to show grace is bland and empty.

Our world, where cynicism and stubbornness often rule the day, can use a little more grace. So may you, in Jesus’s name, be someone who sprinkles it in every interaction you have.